Deputizing Bloggers

Our presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain is drafting legislation (again) that may have bloggers involved in policing the internet: (h/t Brian at Iowa Voice)

Senator: Illegal images must be reported

update: John McCain proposes law to force Web sites to report unlawful activity and delete posts by sex offenders.
By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: December 8, 2006

update: Millions of commercial Web sites and personal blogs would be required to report illegal images or videos posted by their users or pay fines of up to $300,000, if a new proposal in the U.S. Senate came into law. The legislation, drafted by Sen. John McCain and obtained by CNET News.com, would also require Web sites that offer user profiles to delete pages posted by sex offenders.In a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, the Arizona Republican and former presidential candidate warned that "technology has contributed to the greater distribution and availability, and, some believe, desire for child pornography." McCain scored 31 of 100 points on a News.com 2006 election guide scoring technology-related votes. (link)

Now, I need all who read this to understand where I stand on pedophiles and child pornography; the scumbags involved in this need to be locked up and the key thrown away. A civil society needs to purge these perverts from existence.......

........But the unintended threat of prosecution for not reporting some site that a blogger may have linked to (or visited) may be going a bit too far.If Mr. McCain wants to deputize me and pay me for policing the Internet, he may want to inquire if I already have a full time job. There is a slippery slope here, and we can all hope that our representatives craft the proper legislation that will not require the average blogger to police the web for fear that something missed will land them in jail or fined.

While John McCain's intentions may be honorable, (as most of us are), I would hope that he will consider our points in this proposal.

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